The menace of commercial motorcyclists popularly known as okada riders has been a big problem in the country for several years. There is hardly anybody in the country that does not have one ugly tale or the other to tell about okada. The recent incident at the popular Dei Dei market in Abuja which led to the loss of lives, including that of a pregnant woman and property worth millions of Naira was reported to have been linked to the recklessness of an okada rider. Some people have associated the  operations of the okada riders with some robbery incidents and terrorism in some parts of the country as some terrorists and criminals, they say, disguise as okada men to perpetrate the criminal acts.
Therefore, it could be justified for the government to curtail the hazards of okada. But is a nationwide ban as proposed by  the federal government, the way out? Does the federal government even have the power to enforce such a ban across the states or is it just a case of speaking before thinking only to later take back their words as we have seen many times among Nigerian leaders? Did the government consider the consequences of such a ban? Rising from a national security council meeting in Abuja last Thursday, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, hinted about the government’s plan to ban commercial motorcycles, as well as mining activities across the nation, as a way of stemming the rising insecurity across the country and cutting off funding for the terrorists.
According to him, the planned action “is a sacrifice that we see as what will help address the security challenges and I think no sacrifice is too big as far as that issue is concerned. “Above all, if you are talking of banning motorcycles, for example, I think the number of people using these motorcycles is not up to 20 percent of the Nigerian population. “So, if that percentage is called to make a sacrifice that is all-pervading or affecting over 200 million Nigerians, I think that sacrifice is not too much and is worthy of being considered.” The first question to be raised from Malami’s pronouncement is, did the AGF forget that we run a federal system of government in Nigeria and that the constitution of the country is unambiguous on what the duties of the three tires of government are?  Are there efforts to carry the governors along or the federal government intends to impose their decision on them?
Secondly, is banning commercial motorcycle the best way of solving terrorism problem in the country? Talking about this decision, a political analyst made an analogy of a man suffering from severe headache and instead of finding the root cause of the sickness and treating it, he decided to cut off his head. I mean, why all these white-wash approaches to the problem of terrorism and general insecurity in the country? Why do we choose to treat the symptoms of a disease instead of its cause? Why is it so difficult for the federal government to muster the political will to deal with the problem of insecurity the way it ought to. A lot of security experts and other concerned Nigerians have made brilliant suggestions and recommendations on how to curtail the ugly situation weighing the nation down, yet we do not see any of such suggestions being implemented.
Rather, we see a notorious terrorist who is accused of several killings and other atrocities in the country, being turbaned on the lame excuse that “he is a repented terrorist”. We see terrorists being rewarded with appointments in the military, because “they have repented”. Terrorist attack planes, trains, churches, sack villages and farm lands, whisk people away from their homes and even hospitals, kill people every day and disappear into the thin air. Just a few weeks ago, over 400 criminals and terrorists escaped from Kuje Correctional Centre, in the Federal Capital Territory, following the raid of the facility by some Islamist terrorists. The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, was bold to Nigerians that significant efforts were made to gather intelligence before the attack but regrettably, there was a lack of will to act on it. Yet, up till now, no heads have rolled. We have since moved on as if nothing happened.
The point is, as long as we continue to treat terrorism in Nigeria with kid gloves and pamper the terrorists  instead of punishing them as the law stipulates, as long as we continue to place selfish, political, tribal, religious and sectional sentiments over the general good of the nation, the situation cannot abate. Malami talked about the 20 per cent of the population, (about 40million people) who are engaged in the commercial motorcycle business, sacrificing their means of livelihood for a better Nigeria. And the question many have asked is, what sacrifices have our leaders made towards a better Nigerian society? Why must it always be the civil servants, the workers and the poor masses that are expected to suffer for the good of the country?
Again, how better can the country be if this number of people are left without a means of sustaining themselves and their families. Did the government consider the ripple effects of the decision? What alternative is the government going to provide for the people that are legitimately using this as a means of livelihood? What alternative means of transport will be provided for Nigerians whose villages, residence and others can only be accessed with a motorcycle? As a matter of fact, okada should not have been in the first place if governments, both past and present, had done what was expected of them like providing good roads, affordable means of transportation, employment, better life for the citizens and all that.
It is just the same way the government has turned blind eyes on the illegal mining activities that have been going on in some northern states over the years. They have failed to effectively regulate these activities and ensure that the money generated goes into the government’s coffers just as it is with oil in the Niger Delta or preferably, allow the other states to also control the mineral resources domiciled in their states and pay taxes to the centre as it ought to be in a true federalism.  Reports have it that all kinds of mineral resources are being mined up north which the authorities declare as illegal  but those involved are hardly jailed. Whereas in the south, those involved in petroleum have been accused, jailed or killed.
We recall the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, during a visit to President Muhammad Buhari, in 2020, where he presented some gold bars and other precious stones mined in the state in commercial quantity stating: “It is very important to us as a government, particularly on the issue of insecurity, to know the root cause of insecurity. Zamfara State is blessed with many mineral resources and some people outside the country come to buy gold and other precious stones and sometimes, instead of paying people, they pay back with arms; I did some investigations.”
That disclosure and similar other reports on terrorism financing, including the culprits were swept under the carpet. Yet, the same government is today telling us that mining has become a source of funding for terrorism. Let us be serious in this country for once, please. I want to repeat for the umpteenth time, that the government knows what to do to stem the insecurity in the country. They should please, sincerely do the right thing for the sake of the nation and stop all these ill-conceived ideas that will not take the country anywhere, as far as the issue of insecurity is concerned.

By: Calista Ezeaku